March 12, 2007

MINUTES OF SPECIAL BOARD MEETING

TRUSTEES OFBARTONHILLSVILLAGE

March 12, 2007

A special meeting of the Trustees was
called by President Laporte for the purpose of considering expenditure of
funds for additional work from the architect and landscape architect for
theVillageAdministrationCenterproject. The meeting was called to order by Ms.
Laporte at6:05 PMat the Village Hall

Ms. Laporte referred to her memo
circulated to the Trustees by email that provided background for the
meeting, adding that Treasurer Boddie recommended Trustee approval for the
expenditures being considered due to the amount. She added that there are
two separate discussions needed, one regarding landscape architect Shannan
Gibb-Randall and one regarding architect Ed Wier.

Work has been done beyond what was
already paid, so there is an outstanding bill of $1,300 due to Ms.
Gibb-Randall. If the Trustees would like her to produce a drawing of the
proposed VAC building, that would cost an additional $1,600-2,400. (Ms.
Laporte showed a sample of the type of drawing in question.) Mr. Wier
estimated an additional 40 hours of work to develop the plans for the
building further (at a rate of $75/hour =$3,000). Ms. Laporte has talked
with VAC Committee Chair Lindstrom who agreed that the Trustees should
discuss how they would like to move forward from here.

Discussion included:

--Little is known about Mr. Wier’s work
other than the Sylvan Township Hall, which was built around 1999 at a cost
of about $150/square foot. If more work is desired from Mr. Wier, due
diligence would suggest learning more about his background and
experience.

--The support of BHMC is essential to
the success of the project. More communication is needed with the BHMC
Directors in light of theFebruary
22, 2007joint meeting
discussion.

--About $40,000 has been spent so
far—about $10,000 on this effort and about $28,000 on previous
plans.

--There are still fundamental conflicts
in the project that need to be resolved before more funds are spent. It is
not helpful to spend money to see if a plan is acceptable, then find out it
is not. It should be the other way around.

--BHMC is and has been supportive of
much of what has been done so far, i.e. site, basic size and function of the
building. The format of the building is the main difficulty.

--Trustee Bogat (who could not be
present) sent a letter encouraging consideration of environmentally sound
design elements (“green” concepts).

--It seems clear according to the BHMC
By-Laws, Article VI, that the Deed Restrictions would apply to any land
deeded from BHMC. At any rate, BHMC support is vital to the success of the
project and the two boards need to come to some agreement.

--The residents need to know exactly
how the building will be financed and how it will affect them financially.
This needs to be established first.

--More specific numbers are needed
before financial reports will be useful. The project needs to be more
developed first.

--It is still hoped that the project
can move forward soon to take advantage of the current building
climate.

--This building is needed. Jan works
under difficult conditions and more records are being generated all the
time. We need to move ahead in some direction.

--The land issue should be settled.
It’s a chicken/egg situation—how can we continue with the building design if
we’re not sure of the land availability? If the site is confirmed, then we
can continue with the design issues.

--The building design seems central to
the community’s perception of the project. They want to know what they’re
getting.

--The Poley design was considered too
“fancy”. As soon as architectural details are added, the cost goes up and
perception of the project becomes a problem.

--There are basic styles of design,
i.e. Victorian, Modern, Arts and Crafts, etc. We should consider the
possibilities and narrow it down to a choice of style, then ask, “How much
will it cost to use this style?”

--This process would be more effective
with images. The board should sit down with a professional and consider
various pictures of styles, and what details define particular styles. As a
group the design can be developed, rather than the architect going away and
coming back with a drawing, only to go away and do another one.

--The VAC Committee should be asked to
gather this information and present it to the board, along with their
recommendations of what the choice should be.

Discussion was set aside for the
following motions.

MotionMrs. MacKrell moved that funds be authorized to
cover the cost of the soil borings ($3,200) and work done by Shannan
Gibb-Randall ($1,300) already incurred on the VAC project (total $4,500).
Mr. Boddie seconded; the motion carried.Mrs. MacKrell left

MotionMr. Boddie moved that up to $1,000 be authorized
to support a request to Ed Wier to identify a variety of styles for
consideration as a basis for further design for the VAC project; further
that Mr. Wier be asked to provide information on his experience and other
projects he has worked on. Mr. Wilkes seconded; the motion
carried.

It was suggested that the VAC Committee
work with Mr. Wier on these requests and that a presentation be made to the
joint boards (with VAC Committee recommendations), with the goal of moving
toward consensus on the building design before the plan is presented to the
community. The residents should be given a clear plan of what the building
will look like, what it will look like on the site and an excellent
financial analysis in a clear, understandable format.

It was also suggested that the issue of
land ownership/use should be settled as soon as possible. If it is desirable
that municipal buildings be sited on municipally-owned land, then all the
maintenance area should be delineated, transferred in some way and properly
zoned, allowing enough room for potential growth. The residents need to be
convinced that this is an important step that needs to be accomplished, and
that their choices have consequences. If the Garden Site is not confirmed,
the Trustees will have to make another choice, such as land it already owns,
because the office building need is absolute. It should be clear to the
community that this need will be fulfilled.

Ms. Laporte noted that the Trustees
will, at theirMarch 19,
2007meeting, be considering a
sales agreement to be offered to BHMC regarding the land in question. It is
hoped BHMC will take action on the agreement at theirMarch 29, 2007meeting. Mr. Bultman also encouraged the
Trustees to make note of any design images they like (or dislike) and pass
those thoughts (preferably with pictures) on to the VAC Committee to give
them a clearer idea of what the Board is hoping for.